- Goodman is aiming to reduce embodied carbon emissions by 30% by trialling specially sourced low carbon materials
- Sustainable design features, including a roof mounted with PV installation and up to seven wind turbines, aim to reduce the operational emissions of the 5,600 sqm light industrial facility located in the Bremen metropolitan region
- These carbon reduction efforts are designed to help Goodman Europe achieve its Scope 3 emission reduction targets approved by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) in line with a 1.5°C trajectory.
Goodman Europe is working on one of its most ambitious sustainability projects to date, by bringing together a number of lower carbon materials and sustainable design features, to develop a low carbon pilot project – Bremen GreenSpace+ ONE Logistics Centre.
Reducing upfront embodied emissions
Located in Bremen, Germany, the project aims to reduce upfront embodied emissions by 30% compared with a standard build, through the innovative use of specially sourced lower carbon materials. These include using:
- Optimal lower carbon concrete mix in many construction elements such as slab foundations, loading bays and wall panels.
- Lower carbon steel in the construction frame of the warehouse and in the concrete fibres.
- Recycled aluminium for windows.
- Timber in areas such as beams and supporting columns, in order to reduce the amount of concrete required in the superstructure of the warehouse.
- CO2 absorbing paint will be used in the office building interior.
Marie Maggiordomo, Head of Innovation & Sustainability at Goodman CE, said, “Reaching our carbon reduction targets to reduce Scope 3 emissions by 55% by 2030 requires significant innovation and enhancement on the current development process. Embodied carbon can account for more than 50% of a new project's whole life carbon footprint1 in some cases, so we have focused our efforts to see how we can make the biggest impact.”
Designed for lower operational emissions
The carbon reductions don’t stop at the construction phase for Bremen GreenSpace+ ONE Logistics Centre, the facility has also been designed for operational efficiency.
In a Goodman first, the building has been designed to incorporate up to seven roof mounted wind turbines with wind monitoring to test the viability of the installation and maximise efficiency.
Bremen GreenSpace+ ONE Logistics Centre brings to life GreenSpace+ design features in one single development for the first time. For example,
- The heating and cooling system is an air-to-water heat pump system, which is entirely fossil-free, supported by PV-Power and running with natural refrigerants (R290).
- The building is energy efficient and will be powered by 300kWp of rooftop PV and future wind turbines.
Other key features include:
- Charging infrastructure for electric vehicles,
- LED lighting with daylight and motion sensors for lower energy use,
- Smart metering to monitor energy consumption, and
- Rainwater harvesting for irrigation.
- The property is well insulated with cladding that offers air-tightness above standard building regulations to provide additional energy efficiency.
- The green roof of the office building provides biodiversity and a cooling effect during periods of extreme heat, as well as rainwater management during heavy periods of rain.
Collaboration key to sustainability milestone
Developed on a brownfield site, Bremen GreenSpace+ ONE Logistics Centre is a key milestone on Goodman’s sustainability journey as it brings together years of supplier engagement and engineering, to try and source the most effective lower carbon materials and technical equipment.
Goodman’s sustainability team collaborated with consultants, LIST Eco to investigate what would be the most effective low carbon materials available for this site. Their investigations saw them review different permutations and formulas for concrete, timber and steel, cross-checking them with engineers and architects to confirm the materials would be suitable for the existing design in this specific location.
Commenting on the exhaustive process, Marie said, “Collaborative engagement of the entire value chain is the only way we will gain the reductions needed to make an impact."
“Given that the built environment accounts for nearly 40% of global energy-related carbon emissions, it was important that we drill down into the details. With our supply chain partners and consultants, we reviewed how the raw materials could be locally sourced, transported and manufactured. Then how the finished materials would be transported to the construction site, and the construction practices used. We also examined how the products we used would work in the operational phase. It’s only by focusing on every small detail, can we hope to achieve the bigger picture of low carbon buildings,” Marie said.
Customer commitment
Demonstrating strong demand for sustainable properties, Pilous Packaging GmbH has already signed a lease at Bremen GreenSpace+ ONE. A major packaging company in Central and Eastern Europe, Pilous Packaging as manufacturer, provides different kind of wooden/carton packaging products and logistics services across industries, with specialist services for the automotive industry and other industrial branches.
Mr. Lars Haase, Managing Director of Pilous Packaging GmbH, said, “We’ve been looking for a modern, sustainable property in a prime location to help our sustainability goals and those of our customers. By having our next German centre at Bremen GreenSpace+ ONE, not only do we reduce our own emissions, but our customers can purchase our products that are made from renewable raw materials, in the knowledge they are produced sustainably.”
Bremen GreenSpace+ ONE is due to be completed in Summer 2024 and is aiming for the Platinum Certificate of the German Sustainable Building Council.
Sustainable features at a glance:
Designed to reduce embodied emissions
- Usage of recycled concrete from the logistics facility previously on site
- Lower carbon concrete
- Lower carbon steel and aluminium (high recycled content)
- High percentage of timber in the supporting structure
- Timber in the office facade
- CO2-absorbing paint
Designed to reduce operational emissions
- Full 300 kWp PV roof top installation
- Roof mounted wind turbines (up to seven proposed)
- Battery‐ready site
- Air‐to‐water heat pump as HVAC system with one of the lowest GWP (global warming potential) refrigerants in the market (R‐290) and a buffer storage of the electricity produced by the PV system
- Large roof-skylights to increase daylight in the warehouse
- LED lights with daylight and motion sensors
- Car parking with 50% EV chargers installed and 100% EV ready
- Truck EV charger ready (fast charger)
- Rainwater will be harnessed for secondary use in the offices and irrigation of green areas
1 Source: World Building Council for Sustainable Development and Arup, Net-zero buildings: Halving construction emissions today, January 2023.
